Cabinet approves India-BRICs MoU for setting up agriculture research platform

The Union Cabinet has given ex-post facto approval for a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between India and various BRICs countries for the establishment of a BRICS Agriculture Research Platform (BRICS-ARP).

It may be recalled that during the 7th BRICS Summit held on July 9, 2015 at Ufa in Russia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had proposed to establish BRICS Agriculture Research Centre which will be a gift to the entire world.

The Centre will promote sustainable agricultural development and poverty alleviation through strategic cooperation in agriculture to provide food security in the BRICS member countries.

In order to further intensify cooperation among BRICS countries in agricultural research policy, science and technology, innovation and capacity building, including technologies for small¬holder farming in the BRICS countries, an MoU on establishment of the Agricultural Research Platform was signed by the foreign Ministers of BRICS countries in the 8th BRICS Summit held on October 16, 2016 at Goa.

BRICS-ARP will be the natural global platform for science-led agriculture-based sustainable development for addressing the issues of world hunger, under-nutrition, poverty and inequality, particularly between farmers' and non-farmers' income, and enhancing agricultural trade, bio-security and climate resilient agriculture.